The Santa Claus 4: Danielle's Story
by WhySoSerious1992
Summary: Sucky title, I know. Danielle's only at the North Pole because her cousin Lucy insisted she come and visit her Uncle Scott. She hates it, until she meets someone she can really connect with. It's better that it sounds. Rated T, juuuuust in case.
1. Meet Danielle

Disclaimer-I don't own Santa, Carol, Curtis, Lucy, her parents, or any of the Legendary Figures. I do, however, own Danielle.

The snow outside the Miller house sparkled in the noonday sun as two figures emerged from the house. The first, a young girl with fiery red hair and eyes as bright as the sun, was carrying a sled behind her. The second, a young woman with chestnut brown hair and about as much Christmas cheer as a rock, reluctantly followed after. The younger girl looked behind to the woman. "Come on, Danielle! We gotta hurry before the snow melts!"

Danielle just rolled her eyes. "Chill out, Lucy! It's not like the snow's gonna melt before we get to the hill! What's the big deal, anyway?" Lucy gaped. "What's the big deal? _What's the big deal?!_ Danielle, it's gonna be Christmas Eve in two days! Every year, I go sledding two days before Christmas, and since you're here this year, I wanted you to go sledding with me, so come on!" They continued to walk through the snow when they got to a huge hill. Lucy excitedly ran forward to climb the hill with Danielle following not-so-excitedly behind.

"What's the big deal about Christmas, anyway?" asked Danielle. "It's just another boring get-together with family you never see and have to spend the entire day with. The only good thing about it is the presents." Lucy gasped. "That is not the only good thing about Christmas! Christmas is a time of giving and love! It's when you get to spend time with loved ones! Why doesn't that matter to you?"

Danielle only shrugged. "I don't know. I just don't get what all the hubbub's about." Lucy put the sled down on the top of the hill, and then turned to her cousin. "Danielle, you're my cousin, and I treat you just like any other family member. I admire you, but sometimes, when you doubt the power of the Holiday season, I can't believe you're related to me." Danielle just scoffed as she sat behind Lucy on the sled, and then pushed off the ground, sending the two of them speeding down the hill and right into Lucy's Uncle Scott.

**A/N**: Short chapter, I know. The next one will be longer. Please R&R


	2. The Papparazi Problem

Okay, so here's chapter two. Danielle and Lucy will leave for the North Pole, and Danielle will meet the Legendary Figures.

"Uncle Scott!" Lucy catapulted from the sled into her uncle. "What are you doing here?" Scott, a very round man with a white beard and hair, smiled down at his niece. "I came here to ask you if you and your parents wanted to come back to the Pole for Christmas. Carol wants you to come down." Lucy smiled. "Really?" Scott nodded. "Yeah, really." Scott noticed Danielle. "OH, and who are you? Danielle Miller, right?" Danielle nodded. "Yeah. How did you know my name?" Lucy looked at her. "He's Santa Claus! He wants us to come up to the North Pole!" Scott smiled. "So what do you say? You wanna come?" She nodded.

Danielle held up a hand. "Wait a second. You mean to tell me that this gut is Santa Clause? Come on, Luce, you don't actually believe in Santa Claus, do you?" Lucy frowned. "What do you mean? He's right here!" Scott reached in a bag and pulled an Ipod out of the bag. "Danielle Miller. 19 years old. You wanted a baby blue Ipod with a four gigabyte storage. You also wanted matching earphones." Danielle gaped. "Okay, I'm willing to believe if I se this North Pole." Scott waved his hands. "Whoa there I don't think that's a good idea!" Lucy turned to her uncle. "Please let her come, Uncle Scott! Please! I want Danielle to meet Carol, and Curtis, and everybody else! Please let her come!"

"Well……….I suppose she can come." Lucy hugged her uncle. "Thank you Uncle Scott! Come on, Danielle, we gotta pack!" Danielle shrugged. "Cool." A half an hour later, Lucy, her parents, and Danielle were packed and on a sleigh heading to the North Pole. Danielle looked over the edge of the sleigh. "Okay. This right here, this is cool." Lucy grinned "I knew you'd love it! Look! We're almost there!"

Sure enough, Danielle looked down to see a hole in the world. An aurora of color was coming from it. As the sleigh entered, she saw a village filled with hundreds of buildings. They landed near the tallest one. Lucy's parents jumped out and ran to see Carol in the Toy Factory. Lucy and Danielle shortly followed, Danielle listening to her new Ipod. Elves looked up from their work to watch her, because she had it up to full blast.

Scott followed them in to be stopped by Curtis. "Sir, you brought them here again? Why would you risk the SoS?" Scott waved his hands. "Relax, Curtis. You know they can be trusted." Curtis pointed to Danielle. "Who's that?" "Oh, that's Danielle, Lucy's cousin." "Oh." Curtis walked off, taking Scott with him. Danielle had watched them talk and look at her. She shrugged and looked at the toys some more. When she was bored with that, she found the kitchen. She also found nameplates on a table. She went around, reading each one out loud. "Mother Nature, Father Time, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, Sandman, Cupid, Santa Claus, Jack Frost. Huh. That's just plain weird." She was approached by Scott, or Santa.

"Danielle, there you are! How would you like to meet the most Legendary Figures in the universe?" She shrugged. "Sure, why?" He smiled. "Good, because it just so happens that they're coming here for a meeting. I hope it's not bad news." He sat in the seat with the name plate "Santa Claus." She just shrugged and put her Ipod back on. As she went through three songs, Mother Nature, Father Time, Sandman, The Easter Bunny, The Tooth Fairy, and Cupid arrived. Jack Frost was last to come. A minute into the meeting, in walked a pale man wearing a blue suit. He had piercing blue eyes and was covered in ice. His hair looked like it had been freeze dried. "Sorry I'm late; there was an incident in Peru." He took his seat, and the meeting continued. Mother Nature spoke. "Jack, we were just discussing the ability to stay hidden. How are you faring?" Jack gave a confused look. "What?" The Easter Bunny spoke up. "What she means is how are you faring against the paparazzi? More and more newscaster are snooping around our stories. It's becoming more and more difficult to stay out if the media."

Jack gave a knowing look. "Oh, I see. Well, I think I'm doing a good job of staying hidden." Mother Nature nodded. "So, does anybody have any idea how to get them off our trail? Anyone? Anyone at all?" At this, Danielle looked up. She walked over to Santa and tapped his shoulder. Scott looked at her. "Can I talk to you for a minute, Santa?" He looked back to the board members. Mother Nature nodded, so he stood up and went to a corner with Danielle. "What? What's wrong?" "Nothing's wrong. I just though you might want to hear the idea I have for keeping the paparazzi off your trail."

**A/N**: For those of you who reviewed the 1st chapter, I thank you, and I ask you to again review.


	3. Retelling The Escape Clause

Again, I only own Danielle. That's it. I do not own any of the Santa Clause characters. Or legendary figures. Or Jack Frost, regrettably.

Santa looked at Danielle. "You have a plan? What is it?"

Danielle shifted from one foot to the other. "Simple. Have someone tell them what you're not." When Santa gave her a confused look, she sighed. "What I mean is this; The Easter Bunny is _not_ a small real looking rabbit, The Tooth Fairy is _not_ a woman, The Sandman and Jack Frost are _not_ tiny little impish creatures, Mother Nature does _not_ take a natural form, like a tree, or a flower, Father Time is _not_ a short old man, you are _not_ a milk and cookies addict, and Cupid is _not_ a cute little cherub." Santa still didn't understand. Danielle rolled her eyes. "Look, just spread rumors that these things are true. Tell them Cupid's a cherub, or that The Tooth Fairy is a woman. Tell them to look for all the wrong things, but they'll think they're the right things to look for. Get it?"

Santa finally gave a nod. "Got it."

She nodded. "Good."

Santa turned back to the Council. "Mother Nature, I think you'll like this." And he proceeded to tell the Board members about Danielle's plan.

"Wow," said The Tooth Fairy. "That's not a bad idea." The Easter Bunny and Cupid nodded in agreement.

Father Time gave in. "What the heck, I'm in. Mother Nature? What do you think?" Mother Nature sighed. "I don't know. It sounds risky. Besides, who's going to spread the rumors? We can't do it, and not a lot of people can be trusted with this task."

Danielle spoke to the others for the first time. "My friends and I could do it."

Mother Nature shot her a warning glance. "Young lady, you are not a Legendary Figure, therefore have no right to discuss this with us." She opened her mouth to say something else, but Jack Frost spoke before she could get a syllable out.

"Mother Nature, I think if this was her idea, she should be able to say what she thinks." He was given an equally dangerous glare.

"So, you're with this plan, then?"

He shrugged. "Why not? It's an alright plan, and I believe it can work. Besides, everyone else agrees. Right, guys?" Everyone nodded.

Mother Nature gave an exasperated sigh. "Fine, but I'm warning you, Jack Frost. If this goes wrong and we're all found out, I'm holding _you_ Responsible."

He smiled. "Deal."

The meeting ended, and all but Jack left. He followed Santa. "You know, that was a dangerous move, Scott. Mother Nature is someone who doesn't like it when people interfere."

Scott gave a short laugh. "Yeah, I gathered that. I wasn't worried, though. Danielle's a tough kid, she can handle herself." He was answered by a shove in the shoulder. Danielle had pulled up next to him.

"Hey, I'm not a kid! I'll be 20 in a week, so there!"

Scott gave a chuckle. "My mistake. Jack's right, though. You don't wanna get Mother Nature angry."

She scoffed. "I don't care. If I have something to say, I'll say it, powerful being or no powerful being." Jack's eyebrows rose in a surprised glance.

"Impressive. You've never messed with a legendary figure before, have you?"

Danielle shrugged. "Not really. Until today, I didn't even believe in Santa Claus."

He just stared. "Wow. So, you never thought about where your Christmas presents came from?"

"I don't know. I guess when I was little I believed, but as I got older, I just couldn't imagine a fat gut in a red suit driving a sleigh with magic reindeer would be able to deliver presents to a whole world in just a single night. Plus, how would he fit down the chimney? Then again, how would reindeer fly? I just stopped believing." She turned to face him. "So, you're Jack Frost. What is it that you do, exactly?" He had been looking at her the whole time, and her question took him by surprise.

"What?"

She rolled her eyes. "What, do you have a hearing problem? I said what is it that you do?"

He looked offended. "I heard you, I just didn't know what you meant, that's all. I'm like a season. I make winter come."

She nodded. "Right, so you kill fruit?"

"Exactly! Wait, that's not a good thing, is it?"

"Nope."

"Oh.Oh well, it's my job. You know, I used to be jealous of Santa Claus." This intrigued her.

"Really? Why would you be jealous of a job that puts so much pressure on you?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't really thing of all the pressure. I just thought about the fame. I used to think of it like this; Santa got the postage stamps, the soda cans, the billboards, the T.V. specials, the beautiful, adoring wife, and the army of toy-building yes men. What did I get? A few runny noses and some dead citrus." Danielle couldn't stop herself from laughing.

"You actually said that? Everyone must've busted up laughing!"

He chuckled. "Actually, they were going to remove me from the Council of Legendary Figures. I convinced them to let me work with Santa to make things right."

"Okay, make what right?"

He paused. "Well, about a year ago, I put little cardboard figures of me wearing a sash that said 'Merry Frostmas' in shopping malls over the Northwest. I wanted a holiday, and since I had upstaged Santa Claus, was about to be removed from the Council. I convinced them to let me work in Santa's workshop to make up for it. The agreed, so all seemed to be forgiven. Am I boring you?"

Danielle shook her head. "Not at all. Please continue."

He nodded. "Alright. I had learned about the Escape Clause, so I tried to make Santa so stressed out that he would use it."

She interrupted him. "What's the Escape Clause? What did you do?"

He continued. "The Escape Clause is when you take Santa's snow globe from the hall of snow globes, and then Santa holds it, and then says 'I wish that I had never become Santa at all.' The current Santa is then transported through time, and everything goes back to the way it was before he became Santa. I turned the Naughty and Nice list distributor to full power, and then took off the control knob. I also froze some circuits in the toy machines so everything went flying. A few things even caught on fire. I knocked some cookie tins over, turned up an oven so it caught fire, then froze the cocoachino machine. I was doing everything I could think of to stress him out."

"Did any of it work?" Jack shook his head. "Nope. I only succeeded when I unscrewed the tree so when Scott put on the crystal tree topper…"

Danielle caught on. "…the tree fell, and the tree topper shattered."

He nodded. "Exactly! So, Mrs. Claus got upset, I took Scott for a walk, then tricked him into saying 'I wish I had never become Santa at all' while holding his snow globe." Danielle stopped him again. "How did you get his snow globe?"

"Easy," Jack answered. "I waited until he came out of the Hall of Snow globes with his niece. Then, I took the snow globe and wrapped it up. I gave it to him, he unwrapped it, the held it while I had gotten him to say the words. We were transported through time to twelve years earlier, when he first became Santa. I yelled at the Santa on the roof, he fell and died; I hit Scott with a shovel, and then put the red coat on, becoming Santa Claus.

"So, did you like being Santa?"

Jack laughed. "Oh, I loved it! Although, the whole delivery thing was way too much pressure, so I decided to bring anyone who could afford it right up here to the North Pole, which I turned into an amusement park."

Danielle gaped. "Y-you turned the North Pole into an_ amusement park?_ Why?"

He shrugged. "It was less pressure that way. Plus, there was a profit in it. The elves and reindeer hated me for it. I didn't care. I was having too much fun being Santa. Then, twelve years went by and Scott Calvin showed up. He tricked me into going back in time—again—and held me so that his past self could become Santa Claus, this ruining my Santa days."

Danielle let out a low whistle. "Wow. Brutal. So, what happened? Didn't you get in trouble?"

Jack lat out a laugh. "Yeah, I got in trouble, all right. I had frozen Scott's ex-wife and her husband, and then locked their daughter in a closet with them. Curtis found them, and two elficers found me and dragged me to the workshop. The only way I could unfreeze them was by unfreezing myself, and I didn't want to, so the little girl gave me a 'magical hug' and I was thawed out."

Danielle held up her hands "Wait a second; if Lucy unfroze you, how come you're still…?"

Jack smirked. "Frosty?"

"Yeah, that."

He shrugged. "Beats me. I just turned icy again. I guess the Frost part of me was stronger than the Jack part of me, but I know what's right and wrong now. I would never do that again. Too much hassle." He paused. "Wow, that took longer to explain than I thought."

Danielle shrugged. "Well, it passed the time pretty good. Now I have less time in this Hell hole."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You don't like it here?"

She shook her head. "Nah, too cold. I'm from Arizona. I'm used to heat, so being cold sucks."

Jack had to laugh. "Wow. You are really something, you know that?"

She nodded. "Well, my parents tell me how 'unique' I am on a regular basis. They say I'm something else."

He nodded. "You're really something special. I've never even talked this much to anyone before, you know."

Danielle gave him a look. "Me neither. I don't talk a lot."

Jack sighed. "That's something you and I have in common." They both looked up as Scott's voice rang out.

"Jack, you're still here? I thought you'd be long gone." Jack shrugged. "I've been talking to…uh, to…I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name."

Danielle laughed. "Danielle. I'm Danielle."

Jack Nodded. "Right! I've been talking to Danielle." Scott gave them a look.

"You've been talking to her for an hour?" Jack's eyebrows rose.

"An hour? It took an hour to tell her all that?"

Danielle whistled. "Wow. Long story. Interesting, though." Scott looked at Jack suspiciously.

"Jack, what've you been telling her?"

Jack laughed. "Don't worry, Scott I was just telling her about our little…adventure last year."

Danielle nodded. "You legendary figures get to have all the fun." She had to laugh at their expressions.

**A/N**: Okay, really long chapter, I know. I just started typing, then saw I had used up 3 pages, so I stopped it. Please review! Please please pu-lease review!


	4. The Hall of Snowglobes

Again, only Danielle is from my twisted mind. All other characters belong to the twisted minds of Disney

"Congratulations, Luce. You have now restored my belief in Santa Claus." Lucy looked up at her cousin.

"Really?"

Danielle just rolled her eyes. "No, you didn't. I flew in a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer, came to a place with elves, met The Tooth Fairy and all the other Legendary Figures, and talked with someone who can make ice out of thin air, and I_ still_ don't believe in Santa Claus." Lucy completely missed the sarcasm in her voice.

"Y-you mean you don't believe in-"

Danielle cut her off. "Relax, Luce. I was being sarcastic."

"Oh. You believe though, right?"

Danielle scoffed. "Of course I believe. You can't fly in a sleigh and not believe."

Lucy gave a relieved sigh. "Okay. So, what do you want to do today?"

Danielle shrugged. "It doesn't matter to me. Whatever you wanna do is fine, as long as it isn't anything life-threatening."

Lucy nodded. "Okay. Come on, I want you to see something!" She ran to the workshop and Danielle had to run to catch up. They ran up a flight of stairs, then into a small room with three vending machines. "Uncle Scott said I could show you the Hall of Snow Globes." Danielle watched as her cousin walked up to the machine that said 'Red Deer' and twist a knob two times. Then, she pulled a lever out and touched the middle of the machine's words printed on it. A tiny firework came out, and the floor suddenly started to spin. Danielle and Lucy came in a room with snowflake designs on the glass windows. They were constantly changing color. Danielle looked around the room. There were snow globes floating around the room. It was beautiful.

"Wow. Luce, this is beautiful."

Lucy smiled. "I knew you'd love it! Look, this is Uncle Scott's snow globe." They walked to a pedestal in the center of the room. On it was a snow globe with pine trees in it." Isn't it neat?"

Danielle shrugged. "I like yours better. You know, the one where you're hugging the snowman."

Lucy smiled. "Uncle Scott gave it to me. Hey, maybe he has a snow globe for you! Come on, let's go ask him!" Before she could protest, Lucy dragged her out of the Hall of Snow Globes and down the stairs towards Santa's office.

"Lucy, it's okay! He already gave me this. "She pulled the Ipod from her pocket. "Besides, I'm not really a snow globe person. I'm more of an electronics person." Her cousin's face fell.

"Oh. Okay. So, what do _you_ want to do?"

Danielle smiled. "Well, do you know if there're any big hills anywhere?"

Lucy nodded. "Sure. There's one right outside the village. Danielle, why do you want to know if there's a hill?"

Danielle smiled. "You'll see. Now come on, help me find a sled and a snowboard." The word 'sled' caught her cousin's attention, and Lucy gave her a knowing look.

"Come on. I know _exactly_ where to look." About fifteen minutes later, Danielle and Lucy were climbing a hill outside the village with a sled and a snowboard, ready to have some fun.

**A/N: **Okay, I might not be writing any more chapters for a while due to writers block.


	5. Not Paying Attention Is Dangerous

Praise the lord! My writers block is gone! (Actually, I'd like to praise LilyHellsing. Thank you so much for the idea!)

Lucy and Danielle got to the top of the hill a few minutes later. Danielle set down her snowboard and strapped her feet to the board. She maneuvered her way to the edge of the hill, Lucy close behind.

"Okay, here's what we'll do. I'll go down first, and then when I'm at the bottom, you come down. Okay?

"Why do I have to wait until you reach the bottom?"

"Look, if you go right after me, you might knock me over by accident."

"Oh. Okay."

Danielle took the Ipod out of her pocked, put the earphones on, then turned it on and put it back in her pocket. She waved to her cousin, and then shot down the hill with the Ipod up full blast. Lucy watched her cousin weave back and forth across the hill as if she'd been snowboarding all her life. It wasn't until Danielle was almost all the way down that Lucy, in a moment of panic, made a snowball and sent it whizzing past her head.

Danielle, seeing the snowball, turned her head to look back at her cousin. Lucy was franticly waving her arms.

Just as she was about to stop to ask Lucy what her problem was, Danielle slammed into something and fell to the ground.

It turns out that the something was a someone, and as Danielle took her earphones off, she heard a very weak "Ow." She scrambled off the person she had knocked over to see if they were alright.

"Oh my God, are you okay?" She looked down and let out a startled cry. The person she had run into was none other than Jack Frost.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Jack looked up at her. "Do me a favor and help me up, will ya?" Danielle nodded and helped him stand up. "I am so sorry. I didn't see you. What were you doing, anyway?"

After she had helped him to hi feet, Jack brushed the snow off his suit. "Well, I _was_ helping some of the elves look for Comet. He wandered off and Curtis was sent to look for him. I though I'd come along and help." A few of the elves in the group had branched away from the rest of them when Danielle had knocked Jack over. They had heard laughter coming from behind a tree. Sure enough, there was Comet.

Curtis nodded his head to Danielle and Jack. He addressed Danielle. "You helped us find him. Good work. I'll be sure to tell Santa about it."

Danielle Nodded. "Sure, whatever." She turned around just as Lucy reached the bottom of the hill.

"Danielle! Are you okay?"

Danielle just laughed. "Yeah, I'm fine. Jack broke my fall."

"Hey!"

"What? You did! Although, the snow's probably a lot softer." She had to laugh at his expression. "Come on, Luce. Let's go get a cup of cocoa. They walked a few feet when Danielle turned around to face Jack. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"You coming or not?" She laughed again as he ran a few steps to catch up with them.

**A/N:** I am I have friends who can help me! Again, thank you LilyHellsing!


	6. Hot Cocoa Fiasco

I don't own The Santa Clause or any of its characters. The only thing that came from my insane mind is Danielle.

Danielle sat down in the kitchen with a cup of cocoa in her hands. She took a sip and thought about how she loved this cocoa. North Pole cocoa was never scalding hot. It was always just the right temperature.

Next to her was Lucy, drinking her cocoa with so much whipped cream that she got it all over her face during the first sip. Danielle had to bite back a laugh as her cousin attempted to lick the whipped cream off.

Across from her was Jack, an amused look on his face. "Does she always put that much whipped cream on her cocoa?"

Danielle nodded. "Yep. I've been trying to get her to tone down on the whipped cream, but she won't listen."

Lucy shot her a look. "Hey! I'm not the one who almost choked on her cocoa last year because she had a thousand mini marshmallows stuffed in her mug!" She turned to Jack. "Usually, Danielle puts so many marshmallows in her cocoa that you can't even see the cocoa!"

Cocoa sprayed all over the table as he let out a laugh. Lucy shrank back in disgust.

"Ew, gross!" Danielle shot her a glare.

"That wouldn't have happened if _someone_ hadn't told him about the marshmallows. Come on, Luce, let's get some napkins." They stood up to get some napkins.

Jack, looking embarrassed, got up to help.

"I'm sorry, I usually don't do that.

Danielle shrugged. "It's okay. It wasn't your fault." She gave Lucy another glare. "Besides, once we clean it up, it'll be no big deal."

He nodded. "Right."

They found the napkins, went back to the table, and cleaned up the cocoa puddle. Once finished, Danielle downed the rest of her cocoa, put her cup in one of the sinks, and left with her cousin and Jack.

Lucy looked up at her cousin. "So, what now?"

"Well, how about we go look at the toys? I wanna see what they got."

"Okay. Is _he_ coming?" She nodded towards Jack.

"If he wants to."

Even though she had warmed his heart, Lucy still had an uneasy feeling around Jack. Everyone else trusted him, so why not her? Lucy recalled how scared she had been when he'd frozen her parents. _That's_ why. She was scared it would happen again.

"Luce, you okay?"

"Huh?"

"You had this weird look on your face. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Okay, then. Let's go see the toys!"

**A/N: **This chapter was actually based on a real life experience. I sprayed Hot Cocoa all over my friend's shirt when she told me about her head getting shoved in a cake.


	7. Talking in the Toyroom

I don't own The Escape Clause or any of its characters.

The trio got to the toy factory about five minutes after the cocoa fiasco. Lucy ran off to see Kupie the Magic Panda's new accessories while Danielle had wandered over to where the bouncy balls were. She picked up a bright pink ball and bounced it a few times.

"Hey, this is fun!" She didn't even hear Jack approach her from behind.

"What's fun?"

Danielle gave a startled gasp as the ball flew out of her hands and into a pile of stuffed animals.

"Oh my God, don't _do_ that!"

"Do what?" Jack grinned.

"Sneak up on me like that! You scared the bajeezus outta me!"

"Okay, sorry. Jeez, no need to be nippy."

"Whatever." She walked off to go find the ball in the stuffed animals. Five minutes later, she found it and proceeded to bounce it off the wall.

"I'm sorry, I forgot your name. What was it, again?"

"Danielle. How hard is it to remember that?"

"Not hard at all. I just forgot it since I've only heard it a few times."

"Oh. Sorry." She turned to face him. "Can I ask you something?"

"Alright, what?"

"Don't you ever get tired of being winter?"

"What do you mean?"

She sighed. "I mean, you're a legendary figure. Legendary figures are hundreds of years old. Doesn't it get boring bringing winter year after year for hundreds of years?"

He thought for a moment. "I suppose it does get a bit old. Unlike Santa Claus, The other legendary figures, including myself, don't pass the job on. We're there for life."

She let out a low whistle. "Wow. So, how many years have you been around?"

Jack just shrugged. "I have _no_ idea."

"You don't even know how old you are?"

"Well, in human years, I'd be, oh, I don't know, around late forties to early fifties."

"Wow."

"Tell me about it." He sighed. "It's kind of odd watching people grow up while you stay the same age."

"Bummer." Danielle put the ball back with the others. "So, you don't have any family at all? No parents? No brothers or sisters? Nothing?"

He nodded. "As far as I know, nothing. It doesn't bother me, though. Scott and Mrs. C have been like family to me."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. My parents love me, and all. It's just that they're always busy. Thankfully, I spend most of my time with Lucy and her parents. They keep me busy."

The two of the continued to talk while walking out of the toy factory. They were so busy talking, they didn't even notice the elves, who were beginning to whisper and point at them.

**A/N:** Thank you all of you who have stayed with me this far. If you wish to know what the elves are whispering about, please R&R.


	8. Gossip and Gingerbread

All characters from The Santa Clause 3 do not belong to me. I am getting so sick of repeating this obvious statement, because if I did own any characters, Jack Frost would not have looked different at the end of the film. The only ones that belong to me are Danielle and the trio of gossiping elves.

"Did you hear?"

"Yeah, but is it true?"

"Of course it's true!"

Three kitchen elves whispered to each other while decorating gingerbread houses.

"How do you know?" A brunette female elf asked.

"Colette, please. How can it _not_ be true?" The second elf, also female, but with strawberry blonde hair, replied.

"Well, rumors aren't always true, Diane."

"I agree with Diane, Colette. It's gotta be true!" The third elf, a redhead gave Colette an unbelieving look. "I mean, have you seen them? They're almost always together."

"That doesn't mean anything, Evette. Maybe they just like talking to each other. It doesn't mean they're in love."

Evette just rolled her eyes as she laced the roof of her gingerbread house with icing. "Oh, come on. Anyone who'll spend that much time with Jack Frost has either _got_ to be head over heels for him or insane."

"Well then, she's insane."

"Colette, how hard is it for you to accept that maybe they are in love."

"Well, for one thing, they sure don't look like it. People act goofy when they're in love. He just annoys her."

Diane sighed. "Have you ever thought of the possibility that maybe it's an unspoken love?"

"An unspoken love? What do you mean?" This earned her two disbelieving stares.

"You're kidding, right? An unspoken love is when two people are in love and they don't know it or just won't admit it. Duh!"

"Okay, then." Colette rolled her eyes as she finished placing peppermint candies along her roof's edge. "Like I said before, she's insane."

"Fine. I'll bet you three candy canes he'll ask her to the Christmas dance."

Colette looked unconvinced. The Christmas Dance was something Mrs. Claus had started. She'd talked to her husband, convincing him to have a big celebration on Christmas. Scott, wanting to make her happy, agreed to this. As a result, every December 25th, everyone would have a dance to celebrate the success of that year's Christmas.

Evette, seeing this as her chance to get enough candy canes for a dress she'd been saving up for, spoke after Diane. "I'll bet five candy canes he kisses her."

Colette sighed. "Fine, but only because it'll never happen."

Evette smirked. "Oh, ye of little faith."

The three elves kept talking until two figures entered the kitchen. Evette nudged Colette. "See? They're _always together_. What more proof do you need?" They stopped talking when Danielle came over to the houses.

"Wow, you guys decorated these? I'd be lucky to keep the house from falling."

"Well, when you've made gingerbread houses for a couple hundred years, you get good at it." Jack was right behind her, looking over her shoulder.

"_I know that!_ I was just saying they're good at it, that's all!" She turned to glare at him."

"Okay, you were just saying!"

She turned her attention back to the houses. Meanwhile, Diane nudged Colette.

"What?"

"See? I told you!"

"Shut up, you two!" Evette glared at them both.

Dianne's eyebrows rose. "What exactly did you tell her, hmm?"

Diane shot her a cold glare. "None of your skis wax, that's what!"

Jack shot her an equally icy glare. "No need to be nippy. It was only a question, after all. Right, Danielle?"

"Huh? Oh, right." Danielle had gone back to study the details on each house. She even laughed a little as she saw a marshmallow snowman in front of one. "Aw, how cute!"

She finished looking, then turned to leave the kitchen. Jack, seeing her retreating form, quickly went to catch up.

As the two left, Evette and Diane were looking at Colette with equally smug grins. "Okay, after that, you _have_ to admit it. I mean, did you see that? He practically ran after her!"

Colette gave a heavy sigh. "Fine, Diane. You were right and I was wrong."

"And?"

She sighed. "…and Jack Frost is crushing on a human."

"And? What else?"

"……..and, if he asks her to the dance I owe you three candy canes."

"What else?" Evette asked?

"Okay, fine! If he kisses her at the dance, you get five candy canes from me! Happy?"

She just smiled. "Very. Besides, don't look at it as losing a bet! Look at it as helping a friend! The dress I want is seven candy canes. I only have two, but if he kisses her, I'll have enough to get it!" Her and Diane shared a look, then smiled.

Colette looked at them. "You two are going to do everything you can to win this bet, aren't you?" she asked.

The two elves smiled. "Yep." And with that, rushed out of the kitchen, already thinking of ways to win the bet.

**A/N: **Love it? Hate it? Leave a review and let me know.


	9. Lucy meets Evette

Diane and Evette want those candy canes, and they're not gonna play fair.

Lucy was walking around outside when a redhead elf walked up to her.

"Hey. You're Lucy, right?"

"Yes. Why?"

"I'm Evette. I was wondering if I could get your opinion on something."

Lucy nodded. "Sure. What?"

Evette grinned. "Come with me."

She led Lucy down the street to a local shop. In the display window was the most beautiful dress Lucy had ever seen. It was a rose color with sleeves and went down mid- ankle, a row of pearls along the neckline. A pale pink sash wove around the middle of the dress.

Lucy stared with wide eyes. "Wow. That's the most beautiful dress I've ever seen!"

"Yeah, isn't it great? I've had my eye on it for weeks, but I don't have enough to get it."

"Well, how much is it?"

"Seven candy canes."

"You guys use candy canes for money?"

"Doesn't everybody? Anyway, I only have two. I need five more, and I made a deal with a friend of mine. If I can get your cousin to go with someone to the dance, she'll give me five candy canes so I can get my dream dress."

Lucy nodded. "That shouldn't be too hard, although I don't know who you're going to get to ask her."

Just as Lucy finished that sentence, she heard her cousin, so she turned around. "Danielle! Come here!"

"No!" Evette hissed. "She can't know yet!"  
"Oh. Sorry."

Danielle ran towards her cousin. "Luce, what's wrong?"

Lucy tried to look as innocent as possible. "Oh, never mind. It was nothing." Lucy saw someone else come up behind Danielle. She wondered why she wasn't more surprised to see him hanging around her cousin. "Are you _still_ talking with him?"

Danielle glared at her cousin. "For your information, Jack is the only person here I feel I can talk to."

"Well, what about me? Why can't you talk to me?"

"Luce, I talk with you almost every day of the year. I'd like to talk about something other than Kupi the Magic Panda once in a while."

"Oh. Well, look at this dress. Isn't it pretty?"

"Yeah, but pink's not really my color. Well, see ya!"

Lucy faced Evette again. "So, who're you going to get to ask her out? Maybe I can help."

Evette only smiled as she turned to watch Danielle and Jack walk down the street. Lucy followed her gaze. She gasped.

"You can't be serious!"

Evette grinned like a Cheshire cat. "Oh, I'm dead serious. That was the deal. Get Jack Frost to ask your cousin to the dance. Wait that was Diane's bet, not mine."

"You made a _bet?_" Lucy gaped. "I thought you said you made a _deal_ with your friend, not a bet!"

"Bet, deal, same basic thing." Evette just shrugged and turned to Lucy. "So, are you gonna help me or not?"

"No! I don't want to be any part of a gamble! Gambling is bad!"

"I'll let you borrow the dress…."

"……..deal."

The two shook hands. Evette could barely hold her excitement. "Okay, you and I will convince your cousin to be asked out. We'll help her pick out a dress."

"Wait, what about Jack frost? How are you gonna get him to ask her out."

"Don't worry about Frost. Someone else is gonna work on him. As for you and me, we've gotta find your cousin and talk to her."

"Okay. Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what?"

"If your friend's bet was about her getting asked out, what was yours?"

Evette just grinned. "You'll see."

**A/N: **In the next chappie, we get to see who Diane will get to help her with Jack. Will she be successful? Will Evette get her dress? Will Jack Agree to ask her out? Will Danielle go to the dance with him? Tell me what _**you**_ think is gonna happen!


	10. Danielle's asked out

I had some trouble thinking about this chapter, and again I would like to thank LilyHellsing for the idea. Thank you so much, and a big thank you to everyone who's reviewed.

Jack Frost was wandering around the village when an elf with strawberry blonde hair approached him.

"Jack Frost, right?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Yes. Who wants to know?"

The elf smiled. "I do. I'm Diane, and I need you to ask that girl you're always around to the Christmas dance."

"Who, Danielle?" Diane nodded.

He just stared at her. "Let me get this straight. You want _me_ to ask _Danielle_ to this dance?"

She nodded again. "Yep. So what do you say?"

Jack's expression changed from a surprised one to a cunning one. "Well, that all depends. What's in it for me?"

Diane sighed. "Look, Frost. I need you to ask, Danielle, is it?" He nodded. "Okay, I need you to ask Danielle to the dance so I can win a bet."

His eyebrows rose. "A bet? You want me to ask her out because of a bet?"

"Right. My friend doesn't think you would ever ask her out, and I bet her you would, and my other friend and I are doing everything in our power to win."

"So, you're cheating to win a bet."

"Yep"

He smiled. "I like it. What else do I get?"

Diane thought for a moment, then snapped her fingers. "How about this? You take her to this dance, and I will personally see that you'll have something to hold over the other council members, excluding Santa."

He just looked down at her. "What'll I have to hold over them?"

Diane just grinned. "You'll have to give it time."

He nodded, and they shook hands. As Diane turned to walk away, she looked over her shoulder. "Oh, one more thing. It's up to you if you do it or not, but maybe you could wander under a doorway." She just smiled at his expression. "You'll see why when you get to one." And with that, Diane went back to the kitchen.

"Wow. I guess I'm going to that dance after all." Jack walked around some more until he'd worked out exactly what he was going to say. After an hour, he still didn't know how to ask her.

"God, how hard is it to think of what to say. 'Danielle, I want to know if you want to go to this dance with me.' How hard is that? Not so hard, so why did I just think of something so simple? Okay, I gotta find her and ask her." Jack walked around until he found Danielle talking with her cousin. He walked up to the two of them. Danielle turned to greet him. "Hey."

"Hey, um, listen. I wanted to know if you'd go to this dance with me."

Danielle gaped. "O-oh…….um, I, uh…….well, um…I…."

Lucy spoke up. "You can pick her up at eight!" She grinned at her cousin's expression. Danielle finally found her voice. "…Y-yeah, what she said! I guess I gotta go and, um, find a dress." She gave a nervous laugh. "Okay, see ya later." Danielle turned and walked away quickly.

Lucy smiled at Jack. "I'll make sure she's ready." She skipped after her cousin. Jack still stood there with a dazed look on his face.

"Well, that was easy." And with that, he turned on his heel, whistling along the way to Santa's office.

Danielle kept walking until she was sure Jack was gone, then stopped and rounded on Lucy. "Why did you do that? Did I ask you to say yes for me?"

Her cousin shrank back. "I-I'm sorry. I just thought you were too shocked to answer for yourself. By the way, what was up with that?"

"With what?"

"Why were you so nervous? I thought you would've just laughed in his face, but you seemed really…….shy. That's not the Danielle I know. The Danielle I know would've been laughing so hard she wouldn't be able to breath, but instead you just stood there like a moron. What's the deal?"

Danielle glared at Lucy. "Well, let's see how you react to someone you've only known for a little while suddenly asking you out!"

"If I were you, I would've said no."

"Then why did you tell him yes?"

"I'm not you. Besides, I was answering for you. I thought you might like to go, since you like to dance."

"Yes, I like to dance _alone_. Lucy, I've never been to a dance before!"

Lucy smiled again. "Well, now's the perfect time to start!"

**A/N:** I forgot to add someone to help Diane, but she managed on her own. This chapter was hard to write, and I don't like how it came out. If you liked it, review please. If you didn't like it, too bad! Review anyway!


	11. Guitar Hero

I'm sorry it took me so long to update, I've just been having a little writer's block. Fortunately, something I got for my birthday a few weeks ago has cured that block. Ever wondered what it would be like to play Guitar Hero against a Legendary Figure?

"Danielle, shouldn't you be picking out a dress for the dance tomorrow night?"

Danielle just sighed. "Hey, don't worry about it. I've already got a dress."

"Do you mean the one your mom got you for the prom you never even went to?"

"Yep. It's brand new, so it'll work."

Lucy smiled. "I like that dress. You're gonna look great tomorrow."

"Thanks. Now are you gonna stand there or are you gonna plug the controller in?"

"Oh, right!" Lucy grabbed the guitar controller and plugged it into the PlayStation2. Danielle hit the setup button and they picked a character. Danielle was Pandora and Lucy was Judy Nails. They picked a song and another screen came up. A conveyer belt came on the screen, and then notes started scrolling down the screen. Danielle had chosen Fat Lip by Sum 41 on Medium for her and Easy for Lucy. The notes scrolled across the screen and Danielle hit most of her notes, while Lucy was missing most of them.  
"Come on, Luce, I put it on Easy for you, keep up!"

"Well, I'm doing the best I can! I'm really bad at this game, and you know it!"

"Well, sorry! I just wish there was someone else here that's worth challenging."

Lucy smiled, and as the song ended, she ran out the room, down the stairs, out the doors, across the village and into Santa's office. Frost was in the middle of telling Scott about how he got the jitters when asking Danielle to the dance. Scott was just about to reply when Lucy ran in, grabbed Frost by the wrist, dragged him out of the office and back to Danielle's room.

"Lucy, what are you doing?! Let go of him!"

Lucy let go and smiled. "You said you wanted to play against someone else. Here ya go!" She pushed him towards her and sat on the bed. "Have fun." Danielle just rolled her eyes as she handed Jack Lucy's controller. "You know how to play, right?"  
"Play what?"

"Are you cereal?"

"Huh?"

"Sorry. Are you serious? You don't know how to play Guitar Hero?"

"What in the world is Guitar Hero?"

Danielle gasped. "What's Guitar Hero? _What's Guitar Hero?!_It's only the most awesome game in the history of awesome games! You take the controller, that thing you're holding, and strap it across tour shoulder.

Jack put the strap around his neck, leaving the guitar dangling. Danielle sighed. "Put the strap _acros_s_ your_ _shoulder_, not your neck!" She walked over and adjusted the controller so one arm was over the guitar and the other came under to grip the neck. "Now, use your fingers to hit the color buttons, and use this hand to push the strum button. You have to hit both buttons at the same time. Get it?"

"He nodded. "Got it."

"Good. She restarted the song to Medium for both sides. "Let's see how you do on my level." And with that, Danielle pushed start. The notes came slow at first, but the sped up. Jack got the first few notes wrong, but then he picked up on it. Soon enough, he was keeping up with her. Danielle raised an eyebrow and allowed herself to smile.

"Impressive."

"Thank you. I'm a fast learner."

Danielle decided to steer the conversation towards tomorrow.

"So, ready for tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow? What's so special about tomorrow?"

Lucy spoke up from her spot on the bed. "Tomorrow night's when you're gonna take Danielle to that dance."

When he heard those words, jack hit a wrong note, and a screech filled the air. He had hit several wrong notes in a row, in fact, and the needle on his Rock Meter dropped until the virtual crowd was booing. He would've won if Lucy hadn't said anything.

Danielle looked at him. "You lost. Why did you lose? You were doing so well, too."

He just shook it off. "…..I-I don't know. I guess I just lost my train of thought."

Lucy grinned. "You lost your train of thought? Interesting…"

"What do you mean by that, Luce?" Danielle asked."

Lucy shrugged. "Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about how he started losing the exact moment I said something about the dance. Why is that?" She asked Jack.

He didn't answer, just turned on his heel and got out of the room as quickly as possible.

Danielle just stared at where he'd been standing. "He took my controller."

As if on cue, Jack came back in the room, took the controller from his shoulders, put it on the floor, and exited the room again.

Lucy grinned. "You got your controller back."

**A/N: **Okay, I am SO sorry for updating so late! I had no idea what to write, but then I did, so I wrote it, and now I'm asking you to read and review it. The next chapter will be about Danielle getting ready for the dance, and boy, is she gonna have fun in high heels.


	12. Lip Gloss and High Heels

To anybody who thinks Jack is gonna be OOC if he gets all mushy, HIS HEART IS WARM PEOPLE! HE'S NICE! Just thought I'd say that.

If anyone looked outside in the village, they would see elves getting ready for the dance that night. Elves were stranding extra holly and garland all over, extra ornaments, and all kinds of Christmas like stuff. A blonde elf and a redhead elf were currently hanging mistletoe in every doorway possible. A third elf walked up to them. Colette just rolled her eyes at what her friends were doing.

"Let me get this straight, you're _still_ trying to win the bet?"

Diane smirked. "Well, why not? I won _my_ bet. It's only fair that Evette gets a chance to win hers."

"That's cheating!"

"What's your point?"

Colette just stormed off in a huff, wondering if her friends had an honest bone in their bodies. As she passed where Danielle and Lucy were staying, she just smiled.

_No way is he gonna get a kiss out of her_ she thought, and kept walking.

Inside said house a nineteen year old was getting ready to go to her first dance. She had her dress and shoes all laid out, and all she needed to find was her makeup.

"I know it's here somewhere, I just saw my lip gloss!" Danielle just decided to stop looking for now when a knock on her door made her look up. "Come in."

Lucy stepped inside her cousin's room. "Hey, have you seen my brush? I could've sworn I had it."

"No, haven't seen it. Sorry. Hey, I'm looking for my makeup. Have you seen it?"

"No. I can't wait for tonight! It's gonna rock!"

Danielle rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that's just because you don't have to worry about going with someone."

Lucy smiled. "Not true. Curtis is going with me."

"Curtis? You're going with Curtis?"

"Yeah. Why, Got a problem with it?"

She shook her head. "No, its just-it's _Curtis!_ Talk about ew!"

Lucy glared ah her. "What about your date? Talk about weird!" Danielle just sighed and continued looking for her makeup.

"It's different, Luce!"

"Oh yeah? How?"

"I don't know, it's just different, okay? Now make yourself useful and help me look for my makeup."

"Fine, but I still don't think it's different." She crawled down on her hands and knees to look under the bed. Under a sweater was a bag with mascara, eye shadow, lipstick, lip gloss, and a container of glitter. "Uh, Danielle?"

Yeah?"

"Is this it?" She held up the bag."

"Yes! Thanks, Luce!" Danielle grabbed the bag and took the makeup out. "Okay, now I can get ready.

"But it's not for another couple of hours."

"Yes, but I have to take a shower, do my hair, get into my dress, apply my makeup, and put my shoes. Believe me; the last one takes the longest."

Lucy raised an eyebrow. "It takes you the longest to put on a pair of shoes?"

Danielle scoffed. "No, I can get them on just fine. It's getting used to them that takes so long."

"What do you mean?"

She sighed. "I do not do well in high heels. The last time I wore a pair of heels, I kept falling on my date. It was so embarrassing!"

At the words "falling on my date," Lucy started to panic. What if Danielle fell on _him?_ She couldn't stand the thought of _him_ touching _her_ cousin. She snapped out of it to see Danielle freaking out.

"Oh my god, what if I fall tonight in front of everybody? What if I keep tripping? Oh no, I can't do this!" She turned and ran into the bathroom and locked the door. She sat down on the toilet seat and kept thinking of all the things that could go wrong._ What if I spill something?_ _What if I fall and break something? What if I mess everything up? I can't do this! I can't do this!_ She went on like this for a good five minutes before snapping out of it.

"Well, only one way to find out if I can do this, and that's to get ready and stop worrying." She stood up, unlocked the door, and found that Lucy had gone. Danielle went over to the bed, picked up the dress, and went back to the bathroom.

Lucy had left when her cousin had her meltdown, so she went to look for Evette. She found the elf hanging mistletoe over a door. Hey, Evette, what're you doing?"

"Oh, hey, I was just finishing hanging this stuff up."

"Why are you hanging it everywhere?"

Evette grinned. "You'll see tonight. Why aren't you getting ready for tonight?"

"Well, I'm not good with makeup and I don't have an outfit."

Evette smiled. "Say no more, you can borrow one of mine. Now come on! We gotta get you ready for tonight!" The pair ran off to get Lucy ready.

A few hours after her meltdown, Danielle cam out of the bathroom, all ready to go. It was five to eight.

"Not long now. Someone knocked, and she herd Lucy calling her.

"Danielle, Jack told me to tell you he can't get you. We have to meet them there, okay?"

"Alright, I'm coming." She opened the door to find Lucy standing there in a white dress that barely hid her feet, and Danielle saw she was wearing flats.

"Wow, Danielle, you look great!"

"Thanks, you too."

"Come on; let's go wow 'em!"

The two left for the dance, Danielle still a little unstable in her heels.

**A/N:** Please R&R!


	13. Jack gets the Jitters

I don't own any characters except Danielle and the elf trio.

"Where is she? She should've been here by now?"

"Chill out, she'll be here. Besides, you're the one who said you couldn't get her."

"Well, I couldn't! There was no way I'd be able to even get my legs to work. Oh. God, what's wrong with me? I'm a nervous wreck and this has never happened before!"

"Calm down, Jack! Jeez, you're a mess tonight. I don't blame you, though."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, when I first met Scott, I didn't think much of him, but when I got to know him, he was really sweet. I suddenly started thinking about him all the time and I didn't know why, but now I know it was love."

"Uh-huh….so, what are you saying?"

Carol Calvin, formerly Carol Newman, just sighed. "I'm saying you're in love!"

Jack looked at her as if she was an alien. "Me? In love? Okay, no way, no how!"

"Well then, you'll be perfectly calm when I tell you to turn around."

Jack turned around and Carol couldn't help but laugh as his jaw hit the floor. A woman was standing in blue high heels that had roses on the buckles. Her dress was a vivid dark blue strapless that fell to her ankles, covered in white marks, almost like stars. Her hair was pulled up in a bun with two loose strands framing her face. Danielle was standing in the doorway, looking for Jack. When she saw him, she waved, and then proceeded to walk over to him and Carol.

"Danielle, you look wonderful!"

"Thanks Carol. Hi Jack."

Jack just kept staring, so she laughed and nudged him. "Close your mouth, you're gonna get a bug in there."

He shut his mouth, but continued to stare. Danielle waved a hand in front of his face. "Hello, anybody home? Carol, pull his string, he's not talking."

He blinked, and then looked at her. "I'm sorry, was I staring?"

"Uh, yeah, you were."

"Oh, I'm sorry! It's just that-well-um………y-you look great…" He gave a nervous laugh.

"Oh. Well, in that case, thank you very much." He nodded, and then offered his arm. "Well, aren't you a gentleman. Okay, who are you and what have you done with Jack Frost?"

"Ha ha, very funny."

"I thought so. Bye, Carol!"

Carol laughed. "Bye." They walked away, Danielle still a little unsteady in her heels. Scott found her and gave her a kiss.

"Hey, how are you doing?"

Carol sighed. "Fine, Scott." She was eight and a half months into her second pregnancy, and Scott was taking every waking moment to check on her.

"So, who was that talking to you and Jack?"

"Are you kidding? That was Danielle!"

He let out a low whistle. "Wow."

"What do you mean 'wow'?"

"I'm just saying I'd never believe it if I didn't see it."

"Well, believe it." They walked off, unaware of the two elves behind them.

"Did you see his face?"

"I know, huh! I am _so_ gonna win this bet!"

"Chill out, Evette. Give it time."

"Well, you won your bet and now it's my turn! I want that dress!"

Diane rolled her eyes. "Like I said, chill. Hey, here comes Lucy."

Lucy walked up to the elves. "HI guys."

Evette smiled. "Hey Luce, where's Curtis?"

Lucy sighed. "Oh, he had to talk to Uncle Scott. So, what's up?"

Evette, seeing Jack take Danielle outside, turned to follow. "Hey Lucy, still wanna know what my bet was about?"

"Yeah, why?"

Evette just grinned. "Follow me."

**A/N:** Do you love it, do you hate it, or are you just wishing I'd stop typing this author's note and write the next chapter, already?


	14. An unexpected Plot Twist Mwahaha!

**Disclaimer: **I am currently working on an invention that will zap Jack Frost in my living room, but until I get the bugs worked out, Jack Frost is, regrettably, not owned by me. Right now, Danielle and the trio of elves are all I own.

**A/N: Thank you all for reading this so far. I know it's not the best, but I'm just glad I haven't received any flames. And now, Without further ado, Chapter 14!**

Lucy followed Evette and Diane outside, along with Colette, who had been dragged along by Evette. "Why are you dragging me out here, Evette?"

Evette smiled. "Oh, no reason, just wanted you to see me win the bet."

Colette rolled her eyes. "No way is _that_ gonna happen."

They shushed her and hid behind a tree as Danielle and Jack walked by.

Jack was staring again, but this time he was being a little less obvious. "Um, you know, you look great."

Danielle smiled. Thanks. I got it for a dance, but I never went."

"Well, why not?"

She looked embarrassed, but still answered. "Nobody asked me."

His eyes widened. "Really? Nobody asked you to it? Why?"

"I don't know. I guess nobody liked me enough to ask me out."

"Well, I can't believe that. Someone as stunning as you should have had people all over you."

She just rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure. Listen, can I ask you something?"

"Alright, what?"

"Um, this is kind of weird, but I just wanted to ask…..never mind."

"No, tell me. What did you want to ask me?"

She blushed. "Well, I-forget it, you'll laugh."

Jack stopped walking and faced her. "Danielle, I will not laugh, now ask me what you were going to ask me."

"Well, I was just wondering, and….why _did_ you ask me to be your date for this?"

It was his turn to look embarrassed. "Well, I just thought it would be fun, since I get along with you so well."

"Oh. Well, I guess that makes sense."

"So, why did you say yes?"

"What?'

"Why did you agree to be my date?"

Danielle blushed. "O-oh, um, I just, well….Lucy was the one who said….I didn't…I don't know. Same reason, I guess. Besides, it's not like anyone else was going to ask me."

They kept walking and asking each other questions.

"So, Danielle, are you still looking forward to going home?"

Danielle almost said "yes', but the word died on her lips. _Am I looking forward to going home?_ She thought to herself. The last few days _had_ been kind of enjoyable, almost downright fun. She's snowboarded, seen toys being made, and for the first time in a while, Danielle had met someone who she was really able to connect with. Around Jack, she could relax and be herself. Lucy had been the only one she was comfortable around, but now, she had someone else to talk to. Danielle had someone else to open up to, and she realized what she wanted to do.

"No. I'm not. I don't want to go home now, because for such a long time, I've only had Lucy as a friend. Now, I've found a new friend."

"Who?"

She smiled, and then punched him in the arm. "You, dummy!"

Jack winced. "Ow, you hit hard!"

She just smiled. "Thank you."

He stopped rubbing his arm and looked at her. "Danielle, I am going to be completely honest with you. Even when I first saw you, I _knew_ I liked you."

Her eyes widened. "Oh? And, exactly what did you like about me?"

"Well, the way you spoke up at that meeting. No one outside of the council has ever voiced their opinion before, especially to Mother Nature. Very few people are able to stand up to her, you know."

"Oh, you mean, like you?"

"What do you mean?"

Danielle rolled her eyes. "What I mean is that you stood up to her, and more importantly, you stood up for me, and that was very sweet of you."

"Sweet? You thought that was sweet?"

"Well, yeah. You defended me."

Jack stopped walking. "I defended _you?_"

Danielle frowned. "Well, yeah, didn't you?"

Now, Jack was unable to own up to being nice, so he said something completely different.

"No, I wasn't _defending_ you. I just thought it was time for someone to show Mother Nature not everyone cowers in her shadow. I would never do anything nice for anyone but myself."

SLAP!!! Danielle had struck him across the face and turned on her heels, running back to the building, her vision blurred by tears. Jack just stood there, dumbfounded, and then thumped himself on the head.

"Why did I say that? Stupid, stupid, stupid! How hard would it have been to say 'Yes, I stood up for you, because I like you?' How hard would tat have been?! Bad Jack, bad!"

He ran after Danielle, an apology already forming.

Meanwhile, Evette, Colette, Diane, and Lucy just stared at the spot where the two had been.

Colette turned to Evette, smirking. "I _told_ you he wasn't going to kiss her!"

Lucy's jaw dropped. "What? You bet on that creep _kissing my cousin?!_"

Evette gave a nervous laugh. "Yeah, but I lost, so, hey, no harm, no foul, right?"

Lucy kept glaring.

**A/N: Bet you didn't see that comin' did ya? But, fear not! There is a method to my madness. laughs an evil laugh and rubs hands together like a villain from a cheesy black-and-white movie Reviews are appreciated, along with any constructive criticism.**


	15. Forgive and Forget

I'm working on owning Jack Frost, but Disney is being stubborn, and I don't own him

I'm working on owning Jack Frost, but Disney is being stubborn, and I don't own him . . . . . yet. Danielle is my character.

Danielle ran past the trees and bushes. She ran into the main building and ran across to the door, running out, ignoring the stares from everyone. Danielle ran and ran until she was at the edge of the village, then tripped and fell into the snow. She just sat there, crying.

Right behind her came Jack, who skidded to a halt inside the building next to Carol.

"Have . . . . . you. . . . . .seen. . . . . . . . .Danielle?" he wheezed, all out of breath.

She narrowed her eyes and said "Yes, she ran through here and out the door. Jack, what did you do?"

Jack leaned against the wall. "Well," he said, "I . . . . may have said . . . . . . . something I . . . shouldn't have. The girl can _run_!"

Carol kept glaring at him, and then grabbed his ear.

"Jack Frost, you better tell me what you said to her!"

Wincing, Jack looked back at Carol, now tightly latched onto his ear. "_Ow_! I said that-that when I stood-_ouch_, not so hard! That when I stood up for her, I was just shutting up Mother Nature, and that I wasn't standing up for her, and OW! Let go of my ear!"

Jack struggled to free his ear, but to no avail. Carol held on, her long, manicured nails digging deeper into his earlobe."

"Relax, Mrs. C., she just overreacted, that's all! S-she didn't need to _hit_ me!"

Carol still held on. "She _hit_ you?"

"Well, actually, it was more along the lines of a slap across the face-OW! Damn it, let go!"

"Not until you say you'll apologize to her."

He stared at her. "What do you think I was doing? I was going to find her and apologize, and then you grabbed my ear! Now, if you don't mind, _let go!_"

Finally, Carol released his now throbbing ear. "Fine," she said, and then smiled. "Now, go apologize."

Jack nodded and took off after Danielle. He looked down at the fresh set of footprints leading to the edge of the village.

"Okay, this should be easy. How far can she get in heels?"

Jack followed the footprints until he found Danielle. He kneeled down beside her.

"Um, hey," mumbled Jack. "Listen, about what I said back there, um, I-"

"Go away!" Danielle could barely talk through her tears.

Jack rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably, and then sighed. "Look, I know what I said may have upset you, but . . ."

He was at a loss. Finally he took a deep breath and said, "Danielle, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry. I'm just not used to being nice."

Danielle sniffed and wiped her eyes. "What do you mean? You've been nice to me the whole time I've been here."

"That's just it! I've been nice to you. Ever since that hug, I've felt all warm and tingly, but I've never been this _friendly_ to anyone. Everyone is nice to me now, and I'm nice back, but not nice nice, just nice." He paused and looked at the girl in front of him, then said, "Danielle, _I'm sorry_. I'm not just saying that because Mrs. C. nearly pinched my ear off, either. I am really, truly sorry. You have every right to hate me, but I hope you don't."

Danielle thought for a minute, but decided she could forgive him. She crawled over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist in a hug. Startled, Jack looked down at her, and slowly put his arms around her. He smiled and asked "Does this mean I'm forgiven?"

"Yes, you are forgiven, "said Danielle.

Jack grinned. "Great. So, you wanna go back to the dance, or . . . . ."

She smiled. "Let's go back. You _still_ haven't asked me to dance, you know."

Jack stood up and brushed the snow off of his suit, then offered Danielle a hand. She took it and stood up. Jack offered her his arm.

"Well, we'll have to fix that, now won't we?"

**A/N:** Yay finally! I've been meaning to get this up FOREVER! Anyone who reviews will get a Jack Frost doll.


	16. First Kiss

Oh My God, update! I Can NOT believe I finally got off my lazy butt and wrote this! I haven't even touched this story in forever!

-----------------

The rest of the dance went incredibly smooth. Jack convince Danielle to dance at least twice, Curtis stopped talking about last minute Christmas specifications long enough to dance through at least one song with Lucy (the fact that Danielle threatened to tear out his small intestine and jump rope with it if he kept ignoring her cousin had nothing to do with it), and Danielle managed to get through the rest of the night without tripping or falling on anyone.

When the band finished playing "Holly Jolly Christmas," Danielle immediately left the dance floor and found a vacant chair to sit in. Jack followed her. She sat and then winced as she lifted one foot.

"Great, these dumb shoes are giving me blisters. Perfect!"

Jack winced. "Those shoes look uncomfortable."

"You think? High heels are the most uncomfortable shoes ever!"

"Well then, thank goodness I'm not a woman."

"Jack, if you were a woman then you and I being here together would be awkward for everyone."

Jack couldn't help it; he laughed.

"Jack Frost, are you _laughing_ at me?" she asked in mock annoyance.

"Are you going to hit me again if I say "yes?"

"Maybe, maybe not; it all depends."

"On what?"

"I don't know, but give me a minute; I'll think of something."

"Uh-huh . . . . . you do that."

Danielle winced as she put her foot back down on the ground. "I never want to wear heels again," she whined. "I have no idea how Dorothy walked all the way to Emerald City in those diamond heels."

"I thought they were Ruby heels."

"No, in the book they were diamond, not ruby. God, I hate Hollywood. They screw up everything except Twilight. They did Twilight perfectly, even though they cut out a few minor things. Oh well, it was still one of the best movies ever."

Jack looked puzzled. "Twilight? What is Twilight?"

Danielle gasped. "What's Twilight? _**What's Twilight**__?_ Twilight happens to be the best book ever written, and the 2nd, 3rd and 4th best books ever are its sequels: New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. They're vampire romance novels, and they're awesome."

"Okay, don't want to know about it, sorry I asked," he mumbled. "So, you like romance novels?"

Danielle nodded. "_And_ vampire novels."

"That is something I would never have guessed about you," said Jack.

Danielle grinned. "Yeah, I get that a lot. God, it's getting late. I should probably hit the hay soon if I'm going to get my butt up tomorrow morning."

"You're tired?"

"Uh-huh," she yawned.

Jack stood up and offered his hand. She took it and stood up.

"Well then, I guess it's time for me to take you back," said Jack. He led her out of the party and along the deserted snow covered streets.

"Jack," said Danielle, "Do you ever get lonely?"

"Lonely? What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, when you think about it, you're all alone. Even if you do ever meet someone special, they'll grow old and die, and you'll be alone again, the same age forever."

Jack walked silently for a moment, and then answered. "There's never been anyone special in my life, so I've never had to go through that. Still, that would be upsetting. What made you ask that?"

Danielle shrugged. "I don't know, I was just curious, that's all."

He nodded. "Fair enough."

They walked in comfortable silence until they reached the place where the Danielle was staying. Jack walked Danielle up the stairs and to the door. She smiled at him.

"Thanks for asking me to go with you. I had a lot of fun, even if it does feel like I'm walking on glass right now," she said as she winced again. Jack winced in sympathy as she lifted one foot off of the ground and placed it gently back down.

"Well, I hope your feet feel better," he said.

"Thanks," she laughed. "I hope so, too."

They stood in awkward silence until Danielle stepped forward and gave Jack a small hug. He hesitantly placed his arms around her.

"Oh God, your hands are cold," she murmured.

He chuckled. "Well, I _am_ the spirit of winter."

Danielle blushed. "Oh yeah, I forgot. Stupid me." She pulled back and opened the door to the small cabin. "You want to come in?"

Jack nodded and stepped into the small cabin. "Sure, if you don't mind getting your gift a few hours early."

"Gift?" asked Danielle as she sat on a loveseat to take her shoes off. "Oh no, please don't tell me you got me something for Christmas. If you did, I am going to shoot you."

"Why?" he asked.

"Well, because then I'll feel bad that I didn't get you anything," she replied, looking slightly embarrassed.

Jack grinned. "That's okay, I just felt like getting you something. Plus, you said your birthday was in a few weeks so I thought I'd cover both occasions."

"Oh," she said, looking stunned. "O-okay, I guess that's okay then."

Jack opened his jacket and pulled out a long velvet box. He handed it to Danielle.

She opened it and gasped. Inside was a thin silver chain. A small pendant bordered with intricate designs hung from the chain, and in the middle of the pendant there was a single diamond.

Slowly, she rose from the loveseat and crossed the hallway to a full-length mirror hanging on the wall. Jack followed her. He reached around from behind her and took the necklace out of its box. Danielle just stared in the mirror as he fastened the chain around her neck. Her hand rose to the pendant and she fingered the diamond as if it might break.

"Oh Jack, it's beautiful. Thank you."

He nodded. The two of them stood there together until Jack put his hands on Danielle's shoulders and spun her around so that she was facing him. Gently, he raised his hands and placed them on each side of her pale face.

"You know for an Arizona girl, you are really pale."

Danielle blushed. "Yeah, I get that a lot."

"I like it."

"O-oh," she stuttered. "Uh, t-thank you, I-I think. Um, is there any reason why your hands are on my face? If not, please move them."

"Why?"

"Your hands are cold and I think you're giving my face frostbite."

"Well then, I'll make this quick," said Jack. Before Danielle had a chance to ask what he meant by that, he bowed his head so that his lips were only inched from hers, and then he kissed her.

Danielle froze on the spot. _What the hell is he doing?! Why is he kissing me? Why do I want to kiss him back? Oh God,_ she though. _No way can this happen! It's too weird!_

He kissed her harder. She moaned. _Oh what the hell, why not?_

She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her hands traveled up the back of his head and she tangled her fingers through his icy hair.

They were too focused on each to notice that there were four pairs of eyes watching them through the window.

-----------------------

"Oh. My. God."

"Ew, he's kissing my cousin!"

"Look's like I win, Colette. I believe you owe me five candy canes."

"Evette?"

"Yes?"

"Shut up."

-----

**A/N:** It took forever to get this right. I have no idea what I'm going to write for the next chapter, so it could be a while before the next update.


	17. Extended Holiday

**Disclaimer:** Yes indeed, ladies and germs, it's an honest to got disclaimer! These are few and fleeting since everyone knows none of us own The Santa Clause.

---

"Good morning Uncle Scott!" Danielle yelled as she skipped into her uncle's office. Scott looked up from his paperwork to see his niece in front of him grinning like an idiot.

"Good morning, Danielle. You're awfully chipper today . . ."

Danielle shrugged. "I'm happy, so sue me. Hey, Uncle Scott, do you think I could stay here for a while longer?"

"I thought you couldn't wait to go home?" he asked suspiciously.

Danielle bit her lower lip. "Well, now I wanna stay. Is that okay with you?"

Scott sighed. "It's fine with me; just ask Neil and Laura first."

"Yes! Thanks Uncle Scott!" Danielle ran forward and gave her uncle a hug then ran out of the room.

Scott scratched his head but then he just shrugged and went back to his paperwork. "Now I wonder what's gotten into her."

---

"Uncle Neil, Aunt Laura, can I say here longer?"

"Um, I don't se why not, but I thought you wanted to leave soon?"

"Um, well, I want to stay now."

"Well, okay."

"Yes, thank you!"

Danielle hugged her uncle and aunt and turned her head when she heard someone whistle. Jack was leaning against the wall 10 feet away. Danielle waved and ran toward him. "Thanks guys," she yelled over her shoulder.

Laura and Neil watched their niece run to Jack Frost. Laura smiled. "Aw, how cute. . . . And mildly disturbing."

Neil cocked his head. "What? What's cute?"

Laura rolled here eyes. "Never mind, let's go find Lucy."

---

**A/N: ** Dear god I actually updated. It's a freakin' miracle!


	18. Patience

Jack Frost watched in amusement as Danielle tried (and failed) to make a gingerbread house stay together. "You're being too rough, you need to lighten your touch," he chided her. "Start over."

Danielle frowned a little but did as she was told and got more gingerbread walls, icing and candy. Jack went up behind her and took hold of her hand holding the pastry bag filled with icing. He applied pressure to the bag and guided it along the edges of the gingerbread pieces then helped her stick them together. "We'll need to wait for it to dry before decorations can be added."

"That'll take forever, though," Danielle whined sadly. "I want to decorate it now."

"Making a gingerbread house takes patience," Jack reminded her. "This was your idea so don't whine if you're not patient enough. Besides," he added while spinning her around and pulling her closer to him. "I'm sure there are other ways to entertain you while it dries."

* * *

The icing dried and Jack found out that Danielle was just as bad at decorating as she was with assembly. He helped her again and the house turned out fine, but Danielle was a bit disappointed that she wasn't able to do it all on her own.

"Why can't I decorate a stupid cookie house by myself?" she grumbled. "It doesn't look hard when the elves do it."

"Yes, but they've had years and years of practice." He reminded her. She rolled her eyes and popped a gumdrop off of the house and into her mouth.

* * *

**A/N:** Really short (and lame) chapter. The plot bunny wouldn't leave me alone.


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